Israel responsible for killing of Jordanian judge: Jordanian PM

AMMAN, March 11 (Xinhua) -- Jordanian Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour said Tuesday that the Israeli government is responsible for the killing of a Jordanian judge on Monday at the Jordan-Israeli border, local media reported.

"The Jordanian government holds the Israeli government completely responsible for the hideous crime," Ensour said at a meeting in parliament.

He said Israel agreed to form a joint committee with Jordan to conduct an investigation into the killing of the judge, noting that Jordan's reaction to the incident will depend on the outcomes of the investigation.

The prime minister added that "Israel's excuses do not justify" the killing of the judge.

Israeli prime minister's office released Tuesday a statement, saying that Israel regretted the death of the judge at the Allenby Bridge crossing.

"Israel regrets the death of Judge Raed Zeiter yesterday ( Monday) at the King Hussein (Allenby) bridge and expresses its sympathies to the people and government of Jordan," the statement said.

Raed Zeiter, a 38-year-old Jordanian judge, who went to visit his Palestinian family in Nablus on Monday, was shot dead by Israeli soldiers at the Allenby Bridge terminal connecting Jordan and the West Bank.

Conflicting reports on the incident had triggered tensions between Israel and Jordan.

The Israeli Defense Forces said Tuesday that Zeiter tried to get a soldier's weapon and the soldier "felt his life was in danger." Zeiter was first shot in his lower torso and then shot again after he allegedly attacked a soldier with an iron rod.

But Jordanian media quoted a witness as saying that a soldier pushed Zeiter, which led to a quarrel that ended in the killing of Zeiter by the soldier's shot. The witness noted that Zeiter never tried to steal the soldier's weapons.

Protests over the incident ensued in Jordan. They even called to annul the 1994 peace agreement between Israel and Jordan.

Jordanian officials said they will push to get to the bottom of what happened at the terminal.

Jordanian Minister of State for Media Affairs Mohammad Momani said Monday that Jordan was waiting for the results of the final investigation and would then decide how to act. He said the Jordanian government "will take measures against those involved in the killing of the judge."